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Pixie Dust and Hydrogen Part 3
||Previous Chapter||Next Chapter|| C.A. Cupid had a particular method of applying lipstick, even for such casual events as the first day of classes. Her roommate, Darling Charming, had already finished getting fairest for the first day, favoring a bold mascara, some transparent lipgloss, and very little else-- and thus, she stood waiting as Cupid finished her exceedingly finicky application of liquid lipstick. "You don't always have to wear it in that heart shape, you know," Darling chuckled. Cupid wisely held off on commenting until her lipstick was finished drying-- that had been her mistake the first three times she'd redone it. Then, she spoke: "It's the first real day back to school; I don't know if anyone else would recognize me without it. Especially since the original plan was for me to go back home this year..." "I don't know about that... even in this school, you're pretty hard to forget," Darling smiled. "Come on, let's head to the castleteria before breakfast ends. We'll need all the energy we can get for the rest of the day." "My morning looks pretty packed," Cupid pulled up her schedule on her Mirrorpad. "Spellcasting Ethics, Romance Throughout Fairytales, AP Fairy-Physics, History of Heroic Questing... and that's all before lunch!" "Dexter said he signed up for AP Fairy-Physics... he only mentioned it once, but it sounds royally hard," Darling smiled. "I've never been very good at Che-myth-stry, though, so I bet you'll do great." "Che-myth-stry is the perfect meeting of natural reactions and the myths of yore... it's the very epitome of what my dad's legend is all about," Cupid sighed dreamily. "And I get to take Fairy-Physics... with Dexter..." Her imagination ran wild with her in that moment. The past summer had been like something out of her favorite romance films. for though the Charming siblings had been largely preoccupied with make-up classes and homework, the Wonderland students had been able to return home for the summer, and there were many, many hours where it had been only she and Dexter, together and alone (presumably, hours where Darling had been off teaching Daring about Damsel-in-Distressing). Just to be able to continue spending time with her crush sent her heart spiraling into a swoon. "I'm sure he'll loan you his notes if you ask him," and with perfect, Charming-typical obliviousness, Darling rolled her eyes and hurried down the stairs. "Anyways, I think we're all in the same HoHQ class, so I'll come by afterwards to make sure you guys aren't too scared of the big bad Physics class. And if you are, I hope Giles Grimm forgives me-- I'm afraid I'm sworn to rescue all students-in-distress." Cupid giggled, "I see! Well, I think it might be good if we conquered those fears on our own. And, while we're on the topic..." "Cupid, no," Darling blushed. "I wouldn't know what to say!" "Communication is the basis for every strong relationship," Cupid answered wisely. "A friend of mine taught me that honesty is the best policy... if it's what you true heart desires, then I think you should go for it." "It's just... I've always had a little bit of a crush on her. What if that's what flipped the script?" Darling bit her lip. "Besides... even though I thought it was just CPR, it's rude and inconsiderate to outright kiss someone without their permission. And though I'm far from a damsel-in-distress, I still think being polite is royally important. I just... haven't figured out how to apologize yet." "How about something along the line of, 'sorry I didn't come talk to you earlier?'" Cupid suggested. "Or maybe, 'I was confused about the consequences of my actions, can we talk about it?' However you feel, you should find a way to express it." "That's not really the easiest thing in the world for me," Darling rubbed her arm awkwardly. "My mom always said, 'a Charming princess is meant to be seen, not heard' and 'a truly Charming princess expresses her opinion only by gently supporting others.' She was very adamant that I lived by that tradition. I guess I must be really, really out-of-practice with the whole..." "Conversation thing?" Cupid suggested. "Now is as good a time as any to learn how to express what you really feel. Even if you're not very good with words, you can always try showing it with your actions. Like holding the door open for them, or sharing something you both enjoy..." "I understand most of that, but I'm afraid the greatest difficulty is in beginning the conversation," Darling shook her head. "I can't just waltz up to someone all of a sudden, and just completely, out of nowhere--" And then: blessed, blessed serendipity. Cupid could not have asked for a more fitting interruption to those words. "Um," Apple coughed awkwardly from where she stood waiting outside the castleteria. "Hi." Apparently, Cupid beamed, it was as simple as waltzing up to someone completely out of nowhere. "Oh, Apple," Darling smiled nervously. "Hi... long time no see." "Did you, um, maybe want to eat breakfast with me?" Apple anxiously smiled back. "I bought some extra apple-crumb coffee cake in Book End yesterday and I thought you'd-- well, I mean, of course, there's plenty for three..." "Well, you know I'd love to," Cupid grinned, her matchmaker's heart joyous at the opportunity presented. "But I kind of promised Blondie I'd have breakfast with her this morning. We were roommates last year, and I've been dying to catch up with her. I'm totally, totally sure Darling doesn't have any plans, though. You guys go on ahead... better not let that cake go to waste!" Darling's expression remained unchanged, but her eyes, alarmed, flickered in Cupid's direction. Cupid gave her a less-than-subtle nudge, a silent go for it! "I, um. Yes! I mean, no, I don't have any plans for breakfast today," Darling clarified. She attempted a smile, "And yes, I would be honored to eat breakfast with you." "I'll see you in History of Heroic Questing," Cupid muffled a chuckle as she departed, quickly snagging a bowl of her favorite cereal and sliding in next to Blondie Lockes. "Hey, Cupid, I wasn't expecting to see you this morning," Blondie smiled over her porridge, neither too hot nor too cold. "How was your summer? Any new gossip?" "Summer was good... as far as gossip goes, the story is that I'm in the process of transferring here for real, instead of just the exchange student thing," Cupid answered, taking a bite of her breakfast. "And... don't look now, but I've been doing a little matchmaking. I really hope you don't mind, but I told them I had breakfast plans with you so they'd be alone." "Hmmm..." Blondie's eyes discreetly scanned the crowd. "No clues as to who it is?" "Sorry, Blondie," Cupid shook her head. "You know my rules. My lips are sealed until it's official." "I hope it's easy, at least, to make a cute-couple portmanteau of their names," Blondie giggled. "Huntlynn was such a good one, but Apple and Daring, back when they were almost but not really a thing... I never could come up with one that was just right." "Being in love and dating isn't just about the couple name," Cupid stirred her cereal. "It's about the path of romance that leads, ultimately, to your one true love." "Ooh! Are you sure you won't give me even the teeniest, tiniest hint?" Blondie bounced her knee. "It isn't every day you hear the Cupid tell you that a relationship's going to be OTP tier!" "O. T. P...?" Cupid questioned, dubious of the terminology. "One True Pairing," Blondie explained. "You know, ride-or-die, forever-together, true love ever after? That couple where, when you look at them, you simply know they're just right for each other!" "I mean... the magic of love isn't exactly that simple," Cupid tried to wrap her mind around it. "But, well, now that you mention that description..." "It's a yes, isn't it?" Blondie fairly squealed. "Even if I never find out who it is-- and that's a pretty big if, if you don't mind my saying so-- just knowing that you believe there's an OTP-tier couple right here in this school gives me shivers! You'll give me an interview when I do a report, right?" "If you do a report, you mean?" Cupid smiled. "When I do a report," Blondie corrected. "You've got a talent for seeing these things, you know... even though I hate to admit it, you were just right about Apple and Daring basically breaking up. They were one of my big OTPs, too. Part of me still can't believe that he's not her fairytale prince." "What does the other part of you say?" Cupid asked. "Search deep in your heart." "Well, the other part of me is saying that Daribella is such a just-right couple name!" Blondie sighed dreamily. "I can't wait until it's official!" "Not exactly what I was going for, but as long as you don't report anything that's still unofficial, I suppose thinking they're cute together is harmless enough," Cupid laughed. "Anyways, I should probably head to class before I'm late." "All right, I'll hext you later with details about my report on Cupid: Transferring to Ever After for Good," Blondie spread her hands before her as if she could envision the blog post already. "Now that's a great back-to-school Mirrorcast!" Cupid dropped off her empty bowl and used spoon at the castleteria's used-dishes pile and hastened away to Spellcasting Ethics-- a class that was mandatory for all good-aligned and at-least-occasionally-good-aligned fairytale characters with control over great and mysterious powers. And no power, thought Cupid, was more powerful or mysterious than the force of love. Farrah Goodfairy and Melody Piper, of course, were there as always, but there were certainly plenty of new faces, as well... not the least of which included Raven Queen, who wanted to put her knowledge of evil magic to work for good, and Faybelle Thorne, who at least seemed determined to give less-evil-but-decidedly-ambiguous morality an attempt. Courtly Jester, naturally, had chosen the class as part of her reformation curriculum, though card tricks, games of chance, and general all-around Wonderland magic were typically exempt (being not merely mysterious but utterly incomprehensible to a non-Wonderlander). And then, as Cupid's eyes darted across the room, she realized there was one other person-- someone who was definitely, decidedly new around here. "Oh, hey, Cupid!" Raven waved at her, looking up from her conversation with the new kid. "I didn't know you took this class!" "Hi, Raven," she smiled back, taking a nearby seat. "You know how love magic can get... Headmaster Grimm practically ordered me to sign up for this class after the whole 'heartstruck' incident last year." "I guess that makes sense," Raven nodded. She gestured to the new kid, "Celadon, right? This is my friend, Cupid. She's a transfer student, too, sort of." "Um, West, actually," he withdrew his hand from his coat pocket to offer her a handshake. "Celadon's my first name, but I prefer to use the family name. I'm originally from Emerald City Academy." "Don't worry about it, West. My first name's actually Chariclo," Cupid chuckled. "I was an exchange student last year, but I'm transferring over full-time now. I love it here at Ever After; I'm sure you will, too!" "It's definitely more diverse than I'm used to, especially since... well, at my old school, we all had the same story," West shrugged, tucking a strand of long hair over his ear. "That's actually kind of why I'm here now, actually... Raven, what you did on your school's Legacy Day went all over the MirrorNet. It really inspired the rest of us who were unsatisfied with our stories to try flipping the script, too! Except... they didn't take that so well at ECA. I got a little bit... expelled for it." "Expelled?" Raven looked taken aback. "That's a little... extreme, isn't it?" "Even when things got really crazy here at EAH, I don't think anyone got outright expelled," Cupid creased her brow. "I had detention during study hall every day for a week, and Baba Yaga had me go to student advisory meetings every other week ever afterwards," Raven shook her head. "But not expelled." West shrugged, "Headmaster Oz-- you know, also being the 'Great and Powerful Wizard'-- rules his school like his kingdom. Your school faculty seem pretty reasonable by comparison. And nobody's so much as blinked twice at me since I got here, which is a relief." Cupid exchanged a brief look with Raven. "Um... should we be blinking twice?" West turned his head, confused, "Well... because, you know. I'm... green. Even at ECA, where half the students are talking Animals, that's still pretty unusual." "Oh, that? I wouldn't worry about it if I were you," Raven chuckled. "We have a classmate who regularly turns into a frog, and way weirder things than that." "At my old school," Cupid winked conspiratorially, "Almost everyone was at least partially green." "Hey, that reminds me," Raven turned to her curiously. "Cupid, I never got to ask... where did you go to school before EAH?" "Oh! Well, um, what do you know? Looks like class is starting," she hastily changed the subject, and with perfect, serendipitous timing, their slightly-late professor made her appearance, immediately commandeering a student to pass out the worksheets and syllabuses for the first day. Cupid, naturally, volunteered. Technically forbidden from speaking about Monster High-- on the grounds of 'potential universal decay, and not the good kind of decay'-- it was certainly difficult to express her concerns among her friends, particularly considering that she did, indeed, miss her old friends as well. Vagaries, she supposed, were fair game-- similar to the broad sweeps she'd employed when describing that morning's events between Apple and Darling to Blondie. But Headmistress Bloodgood had been absolutely clear on the matter: no mentions, descriptions, or even allegorical communications about Monster High to the other students. Since the portal she was meant to be taking home never appeared, Cupid wasn't even sure there was a Monster High to go back to anymore. She guessed she was probably luckier than most would have been in her situation-- Mount Olympus, at least, straddled the two realms, and she was still yet capable of MirrorPhoning her dad. Still, as Cupid re-took her seat, she couldn't help but feel the oddest sense of foreboding about this new year at Ever After High. Maybe it was the fact that a quiz was already marked out on her syllabus, less than a week away. ----- Dexter Charming had a good feeling about the new school year and, after the summer he'd had, he definitely needed it. Crownculus II, of course, had been a royal treat to start off the morning. There had been a little bit of a pop quiz-- "Not graded, merely to gauge what you have forgotten this summer," their professor explained-- but Dexter had the information well in hand, and fairly fresh in his memory as he'd spent a fair deal of time re-teaching Daring that summer. In his personal opinion, there were few things better than beginning the day with a few questions regarding the velocity of Jack falling down a hill versus Jill who came tumbling after, and when (if ever) they would theoretically collide. Better yet, his answer had been so thorough that the professor had offered him two points of extra credit on the next test! In Heroics 103, his second class of the day, he'd even been fairly impressed by how large an improvement he'd over the summer after actually managing to pass the start-of-school obstacle course refresher. He did sort of regret that Daring, having fulfilled more than enough Heroics requirements for his career path, wasn't around to see (and, probably, outdo) his success, but Darling gave him a wave and a thumbs up from across the field, where Heroics 102 was doing their own obstacle course. (They'd both be able to boast those accomplishments: Dexter, having gotten through the obstacle course without his usual mishap, and Darling, having held the best time in her class. Maybe Daring was doing better than expected in Damsel-in-Distressing, too-- maybe it was a Charming kind of day.) A quick trip to his locker, and then it was off to AP Fairy-Physics, the first ever class to be taught by Giles Grimm, smiling in his own mysterious manner as he carefully presented their first lesson on the many, many forces at work in their universe. He could already tell it was going to be a pretty quick-paced class, but Dexter always loved a challenge. (It most certainly helped that he shared this class with Raven Queen, who even waved to him at the start of class and sat in the seat just to his right.) "I hope they let us pick lab partners in this class," Raven smiled, slinging her bag over her shoulder once it was over. "Some of Professor Rumplestiltskin's assigned partners were major fairy-fails." "Oh, um, I guess some of them were," Dexter answered, hurrying after her. "I mean, for some weird reason, Cupid and I wound up being lab partners a lot-- maybe because both of our last names start with the same letter. She's usually a great lab partner, but I always feel bad for whoever gets stuck with Sparrow." "Maybe you're just lucky," Raven chuckled. "I was kinda hoping, though, you and I could be lab partners more than once this year. I mean... since we did so well on that one potions project we had together? Though, I guess you're probably way more used to working with Cupid..." "No! I mean, yes, that potions project was a total success," Dexter clarified, pushing up his glasses. "And no, I didn't really have anyone in mind as a lab partner yet. So, uh, I guess the answer is... yes, it would be great to be lab partners again. With you, I mean. For this class." "Oh! Speaking of class," Raven swiped her MirrorPhone to her schedule, "What class do you have next? I've got History of Heroic Questing." "Hey, me too!" Dexter smiled, trying very hard not to seem like he was trying too hard. "I, um... mandatory history class?" "It sounded like the most interesting one on the list," Raven agreed, almost bumping into someone as she stepped into the hall. "Raven! Dex!" Darling looked between them, "There you guys are!" "Hey, Darling," Raven nodded. "What's up?" "I'm just here to make sure the big, bad physics class didn't scare my friends too much," Darling winked. "Is Cupid still in there? I promised to wait for her, too." "I'm here," Cupid carefully nudged her way out of the classroom. "Sorry I'm late! Professor Giles had had a lot of us waiting to ask extra questions." "Talk about ridiculous. And as your local expert in ridiculousness, I know ridiculous when I see it!" Maddie giggled, popping into the picture upside-down, hanging off the nearest locker (obviously because there was no room for her to fit though the doorway, and where else could she have gone?). "Oh! Excuse me, sorry," Apple stumbled out next. "Goodness, there are a lot of people here... um! Darling. Hi. I didn't see you there." "We should, um, get going to class," Darling smiled back, toying with the ends of her hair as if tempted to flip it. "I'll... see you at lunch?" "Sounds spelltacular," Apple replied, flushing nearly as red as her namesake. "I'll just... go to my locker now!" Raven concealed a note of fond laughter and waved her friend away, Darling by far too visibly flustered to do so herself. "So... 'I'll see you at lunch?' Does that mean breakfast was a success?" Cupid hid her own grin. "Wait," Dexter began. "What's this about breakfast?" "There's nothing to tell, really," Darling flushed. "She bought some extra coffee cake yesterday and was kind enough to share it with me. Of course I wished to return the favor by treating her to lunch, as well. Wouldn't any well-mannered prince or princess do that?" "Oh, I know the answer for this one," Maddie postulated with a grin. "What matters in the manner in which you present your manners makes them well, and thus, only engaging in this manner for the sake of manner would make it without manners, or, in summation, two and two is fish or four or four fish, and therefore, more than mannered." Raven shook her head fondly, "You're speaking Riddlish again, Maddie. Do you have a translation for the rest of us?" "Am I? Whoopsie-daisy," Maddie giggled. "It means that the meaning of your manners are in the manner you mean them. Why, that's just basic manners!" "That makes even less sense than before!" Cupid interjected, "What she means is that you didn't offer to treat her to lunch only to be polite." "You know," Dexter furrowed his brows after mulling on it for a while. "I could be wrong, but that sounds kind of like a... date." "Maybe because it is?" Raven suggested. "I don't know yet," Darling reddened further. "And, well, would you look at the time? We'd... better hurry to class!" "Class still isn't for another five minutes," Raven glances at her MirrorPhone. "You know. So students can get books from their lockers?" "Yes! We should definitely all go to our lockers," Darling agreed enthusiastically... perhaps too enthusiastically. "Why, that's silly! The online syllabus said we'd only need MirrorPads on the first day... and look!" Maddie popped up, gesturing enthusiastically to a door. "We're already outside the classroom!" "Oh... well, look at that," Darling chuckled nervously. She glanced from side to side, as if seeking an escape route. "Maybe I should... go fix my make-up!" Dexter gave her a dubious look, and she was reminded that Headmaster Grimm had seen to telling her brothers all about her terrible attendance record-- due to those many, many times she'd cut class. She'd been forgiven for last year, as she'd done it in order to masquerade as the White Knight, which was ultimately her real destiny. There was no doubt that he would not be so forgiving twice. "Or... Daring's in this class, right? I'll go borrow his spare pocket-mirror," Darling hastened in, smiling too-innocently. Either way, they'd all been distracted from Raven's question-- Darling counted it as good as a win. At least until Cupid's casual greeting: "Oh, hey, Apple, I didn't know you were in this class too!" "Well," Apple replied, "I thought I should try to learn as much about quest history as I can... As queen of Ever After, even my mom has had to give out the occasional quest." Raven chuckled, "You could've just walked here with us from Fairy-Physics." "I just wanted to put away my other books first, just in case," Apple answered, and indeed she had put away all of her books save the required MirrorPad. "A good queen is always prepared." Raven raised one of her eyebrows, "Like if you needed to leave here immediately after class?" "Anyways," Cupid interjected, "We should probably all go take our seats." And as Dexter most carefully ascended the lecture hall stairs, he gave Daring a wave from across the room. Though it was a rare occasion, he glanced up from his MirrorPhone long enough to notice Dexter's greeting, and offered a half-smile and a wave back. He didn't seem traumatized by his first-ever Damsel-In-Distressing class, and so Dexter guessed that it must have gone at least marginally okay. Maybe he'd gotten to spend the class brushing his hair, which was a class activity Darling loved to complain about. Speaking of his sister, he directed his attention in her direction and was most relieved to see that, though their conversation still seemed a little stilted and awkward, Darling was at least talking to Apple now. And, if Dexter had to be completely honest, he was pretty sure Darling was even handling the situation gracefully for someone whose one true love had been sprung upon them as a complete surprise. More gracefully than Dexter would have, at least. As he watched Darling scramble over herself to offer Apple the seat next to her, Dexter suddenly became aware of a pale hand casually (accidentally?) brushing against his own wrist, and realized abruptly that Raven was still walking next to him. Raven Queen had followed him to find a seat. "They're kind of cute together, aren't they?" she grinned, jerking her head in their friends' direction. "In a sort of... awkward way." "A good kind of awkward," Dexter agreed, taking his seat-- purposefully, one which had an empty spot right next to it. Raven sat down a moment later, "Yeah, definitely the good kind. I think it just means... they care." Dexter smiled back, and as the next class began, he did indeed believe it from the bottom of his heart-- this year was shaping up to be an excellent year. A very... Charming kind of year. ||Previous Chapter||Next Chapter|| Category:Pixie Dust and Hydrogen Category:Fanfiction Category:Original Character Fanfiction